Lifelong Learning

The McCombs Alumni Network is pleased to provide opportunities for alumni to continually enhance their personal and professional development. Build your knowledge of global business issues through Knowledge To Go webinars, access past programming, attend alumni events, and learn from cutting-edge faculty research on Texas Enterprise. A variety of open enrollment programs are also available through Texas Executive Education.

Knowledge To Go Webinars

The Knowledge To Go (KTG) webinar series gives McCombs alumni the ability to continue their active learning relationship with the university through monthly one-hour webinars. These webinars are conducted live on the second Tuesday of the month at noon Central Standard Time, and then posted on the web for those who can't join live. Knowledge To Go lets you learn about today’s most urgent business issues from the leading minds at UT--all from the convenience of your desktop.

Speaker

Date

Topic

Sandy Leeds

January 12, 2017

The Exploding Federal Debt

Linda Gerber

February 2017

TBA

Herb Miller

February 2017

TBA

Meme Drumwright

March 14, 2017

TBA

Daron K. Roberts

April 13, 2017

TBA

Slides, audio, and video will be shared via the web through Adobe Connect during the live webinar. Attendees will have a chance to ask the speaker questions through live chat comments during the session. If you've never attended a Connect Pro meeting, you can prepare in advance by testing your connection.

CPAs in Texas may receive one CPE credit per webinar. No prerequisites or advance preparation are required.

All sessions will be recorded and shared following the live session.

Videos and Webinar Recordings

Speaker

Date

Topic

Series

Category

Sandy Leeds

2016.08.26

"Using Fed Speeches to Follow the Economy"

In his webinar, Sandy Leeds took attendees through a recent speech by NY Fed President William Dudley. Sandy recently used this speech to help immerse the first-year MBAs into language about the economy. Sandy spoke about what the Fed is thinking about right now: the financial markets, Brexit, the weak Q2 GDP numbers, the inflation outlook, the market's expectations vs. what the Fed hopes to do, and why the market may have different expectations. Listen to Sandy’s webinar today.

Sandy Leeds is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in the Finance Department faculty at The University of Texas and President of The MBA Investment Fund, L.L.C. He teaches both graduate and undergraduate level courses, including Corporate Finance, Advanced Corporate Finance, Public Policy (Long-Term Issues in the Markets), Investments, Portfolio Management / Security Analysis and Macroeconomics. He has a J.D. from The University of Virginia School of Law, an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in Investment Management from The University of Alabama. He is a member of the Texas State Bar and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Prior to joining the faculty, Sandy managed money for a private money management firm. He was one of four portfolio managers responsible for approximately $1.6 billion of assets. He spent the majority of his time analyzing publicly traded companies. He also has extensive experience implementing option strategies.

In addition to money management experience, Sandy also has significant legal experience. He has conducted approximately 100 jury trials and 100 bench trials. He has participated in the regulation of the securities industry, conducting the hearing against most of the principals involved in the Sterling Foster case (a $75 million fraud). He has also advised attorneys on financial related litigation involving options, hedge funds, and other matters.

At UT, Sandy has received numerous teaching awards, including three school-wide awards: the Joe D. Beasley Teaching Award (for teaching in the graduate program), the CBA Foundation Advisory Council Award for Teaching Innovation, and the Jim Nolen Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. He has received recognition from his students with the "Outstanding MBA Professor Award" (selected by the full-time MBA students in multiple years and also the Evening MBA students and the Dallas MBA students) and the "Outstanding MSF Professor Award" (in multiple years). In 2015, he was selected (at the University level) to be a Provost Teaching Fellow and then served on the steering committee of that organization. Within the Austin community, he just finished a three-year term on the Investment Committee for the Austin Community Foundation (managing $100 million) and also just finished a term as the vice-Chair for the Board of Trustees at The Girls’ School of Austin.

So you have a degree in Business Administration or another specialized field of preparation. Now what about managing your finances? How does your financial decision-making fit with your career development and relationships? Why should you save and how much might you put aside toward retirement? When, if ever, would you consider spending everything you earn? Should you invest in your own home and if so when is it a good or bad time to do so? How much insurance is enough? In this webinar we will review typical financial advice, consider recommendations from prominent professionals, and look at practical numerical examples, from the perspective of Kamm's financial management experience.

Kelly Leahy Kamm is a senior lecturer in the Department of Finance and director of the Financial Analyst Program at The University of Texas McCombs School of Business. She earned her doctorate in Finance from The University of Texas and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Economics and a Certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Notre Dame. Kamm teaches courses in corporate finance, portfolio management, and security analysis. She also teaches Executive Education seminars in "Technology and Trading in Finance" and "Corporate Value and Working Capital Simulation." Kamm is an advisor to the MBA Investment Fund at The University of Texas and investor in GKSD Restaurant Enterprises, LLC, a company focused on upscale Southwestern restaurants. Kelly Kamm has consulted in the areas of financial services and portfolio simulation software and has experience as in the area of money management.

"The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A giant opportunity or a colossal disaster?"

Sorting through the rhetoric. The Obama administration has just concluded negotiations on a major new trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). TPP seeks to create economic links between eleven nations across North and South America and Asia. Although negotiations were fairly confidential, a wiki-leak released some proposed wording early in 2015, and an array of interest groups promptly lined up on opposite sides on the yet-to-be concluded agreement. Now that the agreement has been finalized, the rhetorical volume is likely to increase. Over the next few months we are going to hear a long list of dramatic claims about TPP. In this webinar, we will try to sort out the predictions of both proponents and detractors, and try to calculate who will be the likely winners and losers should congress approve the TPP.

About Linda Gerber
Dr. Gerber earned her BBA and Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Texas at Austin. She served on the marketing faculties at the University of Missouri and American University in Washington, D.C. and from 1985-1989 was the director of the Graduate Business programs for Boston University’s Overseas Programs, based in Germany. She joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin in 1990 where for ten years she served as director of Academic Programs for the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).

Dr. Gerber is an expert on international business education, having consulted with many U.S. colleges and universities on their international business programs, served as an external reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education on international grant proposals, and has been an invited speaker at national conferences on study abroad and international programs in higher education. Currently, Dr. Gerber teaches a course on International Trade and Investment at McCombs and serves as the director CIBER where she manages programs designed to enhance knowledge about international business issue among students, faculty, and businesses both at McCombs and across the U.S.

Efficient marketing operations is an essential competency for organizations of any size, but particularly critical when budget and resources are thin. In the startup world there is no shortage of opportunity to plan against the entire marketing mix, but if your team has 100 potential tasks and time for only three, how do you prioritize? This webinar will provide a marketer's perspective on how to design free or affordable plans by focusing on the most important success factors in digital marketing - search, cause, and participation.

About Michael Westgate
Michael is the VP of Marketing at RealMassive, the first data provider to deliver open access to the commercial real estate industry. His immediate focus is to shape and guide RealMassive's marketing operations across brand development, sales, and technology platforms, ultimately helping CRE professionals achieve long term revenue growth through RealMassive’s uniquely-open data marketplace. Previously, Westgate led marketing for W2O Group, a network of digital marketing services agencies supporting Fortune 500 marketers with customer insights, actionable strategy, and ROMI analytics. In addition to managing the firm’s marketing strategy and campaigns, he supported top tech and entertainment clients including Microsoft, Intel, NBC, Disney, and Whole Foods. Prior to W2O Group, Michael spent nearly four years at Microsoft in Windows product marketing and SMB audience marketing roles. Before that, he completed five years at Sara Lee and two years at General Mills in a variety of sales and marketing roles. He holds a bachelor’s in business from Indiana (’01) and an MBA from UT McCombs (’09).

Center for Leadership Excellence – Building the Next Generation of Leaders

McCombs has long been known for graduating strong leaders who make a great impact regardless of organization where they choose to lead. Building upon this, the Center for Leadership Excellence was established in April of this year. We will be joined for this session by Founding Director, Laura Guenther, to learn about the direction and success the new Leadership Center will bring to McCombs. We will also discuss how you can get involved to help build the next generation and develop your own leadership capability as well. We look forward to seeing you at this exciting session.

About Laura (Mainville) Guenther
Founding Director Center for Leadership Excellence McCombs School of Business, Laura is a dynamic leader with a bias for action, ever-present optimism, and forward momentum. She has a proven track record for partnering with business leaders and organizations experiencing significant change. At the Center for Leadership Excellence, the focus is on original research, leadership development, and skill application in leadership roles. At the Center we believe that leadership is the key to improving individual, organization, and societal success.

Given that the future is uncertain; effective, strong, and diverse leadership is what will drive success. Laura is at her best when she works with clients and partners to solve the “impossible” or achieving what others have tried and failed at previously. She is passionate about implementing robust yet pragmatic leadership, organizational and talent solutions based in proven experience and empirical research.

The end result is improved business performance created in such a way that stretches and benefits people and the organization. Prior to joining McCombs Laura served in several executive HR, organizational and talent executive leadership roles at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Dell Inc., Service Master, Charter Communications, Edison Brother’s Stores and Cambria Consulting. Laura holds a Masters Degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of NE at Omaha. She also has a Bachelors degree in psychology and management from RI College. Laura resides in beautiful Austin, TX with her husband and their two daughters, dogs and cats. She spends her off time volunteering in the neonatal kitten nursery at Austin Pets Alive.

Brand Guidelines are essential to your marketing strategy, yet many companies fail to put this building block in place. Brand Guidelines should exist whether you're a Fortune 500 company or a burgeoning start-up. They guide the persona of the company, encompassing your unique DNA in a world of noise and look-alikes.

In this webinar, I will discuss the importance of brand guidelines, the components that should be explained within the guidelines, and how to communicate these guidelines so that your employees, partners, and stakeholders play an active role in your brand's success.

About Renae Gillis Donus:

Renae Gillis Donus is a McCombs '00 alumna and principal at Spur Consulting, LLC, a local marketing consulting firm. Before starting Spur, she was a business process consultant at Accenture and a brand manager at Kraft Foods. She has experience across all areas of Marketing: advertising, media planning, website design, branding, consumer insights, promotions, PR, packaging, new product development, sales and operations. She also works for the McCombs School of Business as a Project Coach for their MBA+ micro-consulting projects.

The McCombs Scholars Program was established 3 years ago to create half and full tuition scholarships to recruit incoming freshmen to the McCombs School of Business. Dean Tom Gilligan asked alumnus John Adams (BBA ’66, JD ’69) of Dallas to spearhead this important endeavor to raise merit-based scholarships from McCombs alumni and friends. We have raised over 100 of our goal of 375 scholarships that will offer around half of our incoming freshmen class a scholarship to earn a McCombs education.

In this webinar, Dean Gilligan and McCombs Scholars Program Chair and alum, John Adams, will share how the McCombs Scholars Program has made an impact at the business school and why you should get involved. Scholarship recipient James Abbott will speak about how his scholarship has made a difference in his life.

About Dean Gilligan:
In 2008, Tom Gilligan was named dean of the McCombs School of Business and the Centennial Chair in Business Leadership. Prior to joining the McCombs team, Dean Gilligan spent over twenty years as a faculty member at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, where he held a variety of leadership positions. He received his BA with honors from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK in 1979, and his Ph.D. in economics from Washington University, St. Louis, MO in 1984. His areas of professional interest include microeconomics, applied price theory, industrial organization, antitrust economics, and public choice.

About John Adams:

John Adams, McCombs Scholars Program spokesperson, retired as Vice Chairman of Trinity Industries, Inc., a Dallas-based diversified industrial manufacturing company in March 2007. Prior to joining Trinity’s executive team in 1999, John was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chase Bank of Texas, National Association (formerly Texas Commerce Bank). He is very involved at the University of Texas serving on the Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, President’s Development Board and the McCombs School Advisory Council. John received his B.B.A. in Finance and J.D. in Law from the University of Texas at Austin. He is married to Susie Baker Adams, a graduate of the University of Texas. Their son John Ross Adams, who received an MBA from the McCombs School, lives in Atlanta with wife, Emily Cain Adams, and their daughters, Caroline and Ellison. Daughter, Elise Adams Harper, lives in Dallas with her husband, Jonathan Harper, and their sons, Luke, Brooks, and Jack.

Crisis in Retirement: Are Aging Workers Heading for a Fiscal Cliff? As the baby boomers reach retirement age, there will be more retirees relative to workers than ever before. Corporations are abandoning traditional pension plans and the pension plans of state and local governments are woefully underfunded. The data makes it clear that most retirees have inadequate savings and inadequate knowledge of what it will take to maintain the standard of living to which they have become accustomed. At the same time, owing to the fiscal pressures facing the federal government, there may not be the political will to maintain Social Security benefits at their current level, let alone enhance them.

As individuals, therefore, are we doing what is necessary to prepare for our own retirement? And collectively, as a nation, are we doing what is required to ensure the financial security of our retirees? These are the general questions that we shall be considering, and attempting to answer, in our discussion.

About Michael H. Granof:

Michael H. Granof, Ernst & Young Distinguished Centennial Professor in Accounting, Department of Accounting. Professor Granof is a member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board. He received his A.B. from Hamilton College, his M.B.A. from Columbia University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. His research and teaching interests include accounting in governmental and other nonprofit organizations and financial accounting.

John N. Doggett is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management. He received his B.A. from Claremont Men’s College, his J.D. from Yale Law School and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

His research and teaching interests include international entrepreneurship, global competition and Sustainability and Energy.

Since 1999, Professor Doggett has spent part of each summer and winter teaching courses on entrepreneurship and global competition in Austria, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Since the spring of 2003, Professor Doggett has led MBA students on annual two week observation tours of the People's Republic of China. In 2010, he will lead MBA students to both China and India.

About Dr. Andres Almazan:
Dr. Andres Almazan is Professor in the Department of Finance. He received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research and teaching interests include corporate finance, contract theory, financial intermediation and banking.

This webinar navigates the University of Texas undergraduate application process. It includes tips on how to prepare the best possible application, the dos and don’ts and a Q&A session with representatives from each of the schools. The University’s Admission’s Office has partnered with the McCombs School of Business, the Jackson School of Geoscience, the Cockrell School of Engineering, and the College of Liberal Arts on this effort.

Acts of corporate fraud and corruption can destroy a company’s value as well as the lives and livelihoods of the many individuals associated with it. The potential for civil and criminal penalties, as well as the reputational damage and potential liability from lawsuits, not only wipe out shareholders’ investments but can devastate the lives and livelihoods, and sometimes even the liberty, of the firm’s officers, directors and employees. The fallout can also negatively affect customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. It’s not an exaggeration to say that widespread corporate fraud and corruption undermines the public’s trust in business as a whole. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is much that can be done to prevent corporate fraud and corruption, starting with effective corporate governance.

This webinar examines the causes of corporate fraud and corruption—i.e., why individuals within corporations engage in acts of fraud and corruption. (And the answers may surprise you.) It then provides an overview of what corporate governance is, as well as identify the elements of an effective corporate governance system. Finally, it explains the role of the corporation’s board of directors in corporate governance and the specific steps they can take to strengthen the overall effort and help reduce the risk of these kinds of scandals.

About Grace Renbarger:
Grace Renbarger is a Lecturer at McCombs where she teaches business law, ethics and corporate social responsibility. She also provides consulting services to private clients in connection with ethics, compliance and corporate governance matters.

Before assuming her current roles, Ms. Renbarger was a Vice President in the legal department at Dell Inc. and served, most recently, as the company’s Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer. During her 13 years at Dell, Ms. Renbarger was responsible for managing a variety of legal areas including litigation, employment law, government relations and ethics and compliance. She also provided legal support to the Audit Committee of Dell’s Board of Directors and worked closely with the company’s internal audit, accounting, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, human resources and diversity teams.

Ms. Renbarger is a frequent speaker on ethics, compliance and corporate governance related topics at seminars, conferences and educational programs.

Prior to joining Dell, Ms. Renbarger was a partner in the Austin office of Hughes & Luce, L.L.P., now merged with K&L Gates, LLP, a global law firm.

Ms. Renbarger attended undergraduate and law school at the University of Texas, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Order of the Coif, and served as an Associate Editor on the Texas Law Review.

Energy and the 2014 Election: Insights From the October 2014 UT Energy Poll

Energy touches most aspects of our lives. Access and affordability of energy plays a critical role in a nation’s quality of life. How we produce and use energy also affects our environment. The University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Poll was launched because we recognized the need for a regular, nonpartisan, and authoritative look at public opinion on energy.

In this webinar, UT Energy Poll Director Sheril Kirshenbaum offers a briefing on the latest poll results, highlighting energy’s role in the 2014 election.

About the UT Energy Poll:
This groundbreaking public opinion poll measures and reports biannually on consumer opinions and attitudes toward energy consumption, pricing, development, and regulation. The results provide a source to inform and guide discussion, business planning, and policy development by highlighting American consumer attitudes and perspectives on energy. The UT Energy Poll has been fielded in March and September each year starting with September 2011.

About Sheril Kirshenbaum:
Sheril Kirshenbaum, director of the UT Energy Poll, works to enhance public understanding of energy issues and improve communication between scientists, policymakers, and the public. She is the author of two popular science books and regularly contributes to magazines and academic journals. Sheril is a 2012 Marshall Memorial Fellow, a Next Generation Project Texas Fellow, and has served as a legislative Knauss Science Fellow in 2006 on Capitol Hill with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) where she was involved in energy, climate, and ocean policy.

Health Information Technology and the Human Element of Medicine: Recent Lessons From Doctors and Their Patients

Despite recent increases in electronic health record (EHR) investment and implementation spurred by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and other major care coordination initiatives in the U.S., the relationship between EHR use and health care quality improvement remains unclear. Insufficient knowledge of how the human element of medicine intersects with physicians’ and patients’ use of health IT tools could be contributing to this puzzle.

While major advances in the health IT field are being made, significant knowledge gaps about how health IT is actually used by physicians and their patients persist - particularly with regard to understanding physicians’ and patients’ information needs in the context of health IT-supported health care delivery.

Research provides foundational insights into this problem and many of the socio-technical factors important in EHR design, implementation, and use, including:

unexpected changes in clinical workflow

the reality of negative unintended consequences

the role of work relationships and communication patterns in practice-level EHR use

the role of individual views of uncertainty in health IT use

unanticipated challenges associated with asynchronous (secure e-mail) communication between patients and their providers

interruptions to workflow attributed to health IT

This webinar discussed these factors and offered new knowledge from a series of studies examining how patients and doctors incorporate health IT tools into their health care experiences.

Holly J. Lanham, Ph.D., MBA, is an assistant professor of medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio; an investigator at the Veterans Evidence Based Research Dissemination and Implementation Center at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System; and an adjunct assistant professor of Information, Risk, and Operations Management at the McCombs School of Business.

She received her MBA from the McCombs School of Business in 2004 and her Ph.D. in information systems from the McCombs School of Business in 2010. Her research focuses on topics at the intersection of information technology and human behavior in health care organizations. She is also an investigator with the Duke University National Institute of Nursing Research Center of Excellence, Adaptive Leadership for Cognitive/Affective Symptom Science and an advisory board member for the McCombs Health Care Initiative.

Entrepreneurship is for many people the key to their dream careers - and their best path to acquiring wealth. While the experts agree that either people make money for you or money makes money for you, many entrepreneurs don't start with this perspective. And, they don't know what they don't know about their own strengths and desires, business options, revenue models, assembling resources to bridge their gaps, and so much more. Most start with a dream or an idea and jump right in. While doing what you love is an important element to success, the number of small business failures is staggering because that's just not enough.

In this webinar, Nina Pickell speaks to both the person considering starting a business and the experienced entrepreneur hoping to improve their chances of long term success. You'll learn more about...

- types of entrepreneurial ventures, income streams, and business systems.
- how to identify your strengths and put them to work for you.
- how to bridge gaps with the right resources and team.
- how to set yourself up for success.

Tune in to learn how to decide if entrepreneurship is right for you!

With a BBA and MBA from The University of Texas at Austin, Nina Pickell is an entrepreneur, innovator, and executive advisor, known for her expertise as a strategist, marketer, and branding pro as well as a thought leader in the world of talent management and development. Her passions include growing companies and helping people achieve success as they define it. An entrepreneur herself since graduate school when she launched a successful consulting business to fund her MBA, she now follows her passions and shares what she's learned from entrepreneurs like George Kozmetsky and Laura Kilcrease, two well-respected names in the university’s history. She's an accomplished writer; strategic consultant; advisory board member; owner of Internet franchises and music ventures; interim executive; educator; and a trainer as well as coach for executives, entrepreneurs, and music professionals. She recently began teaching her newest workshops for prospective and current entrepreneurs, including sessions for professional athletes across the country in 2013.

Nina is an expert in the art of reinvention, having held various functional leadership roles in global and early stage ventures and applying her expertise to many different industries. She has decades of leadership and operational experience in early stage and global companies. Nina left her last full-time role as senior director of product development at Monster.com in 2002 and set a course to add value in a broader way -- working with aspiring entrepreneurs through global organizations to help launch new products as well as improve business performance and profitability. To learn more, contact Nina directly at nina@beyondintent.com.

Energy touches most aspects of our lives. Access and affordability of energy plays a critical role in a nation’s quality of life. How we produce and use energy also affects our environment. The University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Poll was launched because we recognized the need for a regular, nonpartisan, and authoritative look at public opinion on energy.

About the UT Energy Poll:
This groundbreaking public opinion poll measures and reports biannually on consumer opinions and attitudes toward energy consumption, pricing, development, and regulation. The results provide a source to inform and guide discussion, business planning, and policy development by highlighting American consumer attitudes and perspectives on energy. The UT Energy Poll has been fielded in March and September each year starting with September 2011.

About Sheril Kirshenbaum:
Sheril Kirshenbaum, director of the UT Energy Poll, works to enhance public understanding of energy issues and improve communication between scientists, policymakers, and the public. She is the author of two popular science books and regularly contributes to magazines and academic journals. Sheril is a 2012 Marshall Memorial Fellow, a Next Generation Project Texas Fellow, and has served as a legislative Knauss Science Fellow in 2006 on Capitol Hill with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) where she was involved in energy, climate, and ocean policy.;

Tom Gilligan, Dean and Centennial Chair in Business Leadership, McCombs School of Business

2014.05.06

McCombs School Update

Dean Tom Gilligan gave updates on the latest initiatives, programs, and departments at the McCombs School of Business as well as a look at the university’s and the McCombs School’s financial picture in relation to the latest Texas legislative session.

In 2008, Tom Gilligan was named dean of the McCombs School of Business and the Centennial Chair in Business Leadership. Prior to joining the McCombs team, Dean Gilligan spent over twenty years as a faculty member at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, where he held a variety of leadership positions. He received his BA with honors from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK in 1979, and his Ph.D. in economics from Washington University, St. Louis, MO in 1984. His areas of professional interest include microeconomics, applied price theory, industrial organization, antitrust economics, and public choice.

Raji Srinivasan, Professor, Department of Marketing, McCombs School of Business

2014.04.16

Marketing to the Social Customer: The Challenges of Social Media

Professor Srinivasan discussed the challenges and threats posed by social media for marketers.

Raji Srinivasan is a professor in the Department of Marketing and a Spurgeon Bell Centennial Fellow. She received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Srinivasan is the inaugural recipient of the American Marketing Association’s Erin Anderson Award for an Emerging Female Marketing Scholar and Mentor and a recipient of the American Marketing Association’s Rajan Varadarajan Award for an Emerging Marketing Scholar. Dr. Srinivasan’s expertise centers on organizational innovation and marketing metrics, including such topics as new product development, market entry and exit strategies, and the financial performance of firms.

Lewis Spellman, Professor, Finance Department, McCombs School of Business

2014.03.04

Cyclical Forces Driving the Economy, but Not the Stock Market

The economy has been in a growth rut for six years with one large shock after another. But, there is also a cyclical component to GDP growth that lives a life of its own and can drive an economy. The very low levels of plant and equipment spending since the tech boom of the 1990's leaves the United States and most world economies with aging physical plant and equipment. The pressures to replace and modernize plant and equipment will likely be the well spring of the next push for GDP growth. But don’t confuse growth of GDP with growth of corporate profits as we will be utilizing scarce and more expensive plant capacity and skilled labor during the later stages of this cyclical uplift.

Professor Spellman’s teaches financial markets and institutions at both the graduate and undergraduate level with an emphasis on analyzing and interpreting current financial market trends and policy developments. His experience outside of academics includes government service as assistant to the chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors and as an economist with the Federal Reserve Board. His published works generally concern the market pricing of financial institution claims. Professor Spellman also holds several U.S. patents relating to inflation adjusting financial instruments that led to the development of the Treasury TIPS instrument.

Dean Gilligan, Centennial Chair in Business Leadership, McCombs School of Business

2014.02.21

McCombs School Update

Dean Gilligan gives updates on the latest initiatives, programs, and departments at the McCombs School of Business.

In 2008, Tom Gilligan was named dean of the McCombs School of Business and the Centennial Chair in Business Leadership. Prior to joining the McCombs team, Dean Gilligan spent over 20 years as a faculty member at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, where he held a variety of leadership positions. He received his B.A. with honors from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK in 1979, and his Ph.D. in economics from Washington University, St. Louis, MO in 1984. His areas of professional interest include microeconomics, applied price theory, industrial organization, antitrust economics, and public choice.

Raji Srinivasan, professor, Department of Marketing, McCombs School of Business

2014.02.21

How Flat is the World and Does it Matter?

Driven by dramatic social, political, and technological changes over the past few decades, the world has become a more level playing field in terms of commerce, where competitors from different countries have equal opportunities and challenges across countries in the flattened world market. Yet, rising nationalism has resulted in social and commercial entry barriers in many countries in emerging markets. This calls for a dramatic shift by countries, companies and individuals to remain competitive in a global market where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly complex. This talk will explores the opportunities, threats, and challenges for companies operating in this new global world.

Raji Srinivasan is a professor in the Department of Marketing and a Spurgeon Bell Centennial Fellow. She received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Srinivasan’s expertise centers on organizational innovation and marketing metrics, including such topics as new product development, market entry and exit strategies, and the financial performance of firms.

Brett Hurt, BBA ’94, is entrepreneur-in-residence at the McCombs School of Business and Bazaarvoice vice chairman, former CEO, and co-founder. His philosophy includes a passion for nourishing the employee culture of the companies he creates, thinking of the organization as having a brain, heart and soul. “At the end of the day it’s the people who are going to make the company successful.” Hurt’s credentials as a business-builder are stellar, capped by his leadership of Bazaarvoice to a successful IPO in 2012, with a subsequent follow-on offering and two acquisitions. He recently served at Austin Ventures as a Venture Partner, focusing on early-stage software investing, and recently announced his own seed-stage venture capital firm, Hurt+Harbach.

Greg Hallman, senior lecturer, Department of Finance, and a Master of Science in Finance student panel, McCombs School of Business

2014.02.21

The Fed and the Great Recession

A review of Federal Reserve programs and responses to the banking crisis and stock market crash of 2008 through today, current economic measures and indicators, and thoughts on the Fed going forward under Janet Yellen.

Greg Hallman is the program director for the Master of Science in Finance (MSF) Program. Using his years of experience as a financial analyst, consultant, researcher, and senior lecturer, Dr. Hallman works to see that the MSF curriculum encompasses the breadth and depth of knowledge that students need to be successful. As the instructor for the first class that MSF students take, Dr. Hallman lays the foundation for the financial knowledge MSF students acquire over the following semesters. In addition, he works extensively with potential employers to increase awareness of the value that MSF graduates add to their firms and to ensure that the skill set our students acquire meets the most up-to-date needs of the industry.

Reuben McDaniel, Professor, Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management, McCombs School of Business

2014.02.11

Health Care Management: A Turbulent Past and an Exciting Future

We all need it but nobody wants it. Or to say it another way, everybody wants to live a long time, never be sick, and die painlessly and inexpensively. How do we manage a product or service that has this kind of relationship with customers?

Well, it turns out to be hard, but it is necessary for us to think creatively about improving health care by managing it better. We certainly need to improve health care by creating better drugs, more sophisticated surgical procedures, and less invasive and more accurate diagnostic tests. But, we also need to manage the system better; to use our resources more efficiently and effectively.

As it is presently structured and managed, our health care system costs too much (it is the major cause of personal bankruptcy), is not of consistent high quality (the error rates in the system are atrocious), and too many people do not have good access (there are wide disparities in access across our society). The issues of health care management are cost, quality, and access.

Things we need to attend to if we want to manage the system better include:

Patient control over outcomes

Difficulty of cost-benefits analysis

Highly variable time horizons

Variable and indeterminate technologies

Direct participation of high knowledge workers in service delivery

Here are some specific ideas for improvement:

Pay doctors salaries

Make medical school free

Rethink electronic health records

Recognize limits of medical practice

Focus on relationships among caregivers

Involve patients in the work of healing

Reuben McDaniel, professor in the Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management, received his B.S. from Drexel University, his M.S. from the University of Akron, and his Ed.D. from Indiana University. His research and teaching interests include health care management, strategic management, organization theory, and policy analysis.

This presentation will explore academic theories of motivation within the context of three key themes:

• Motivation requires a relationship
• True change and learning comes from inside a person
• A change of behavior is as much emotional as it is intellectual

In addition to an overview of theoretical knowledge, the presentation will provide application guidelines and examples to help you understand how to improve productivity and morale in your workplace.

Dr. Kristie J. Loescher, MPH, DBA, is a senior lecturer in the Management Department of the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin where she teaches management, leadership, human resources, and business communications. She has her doctorate in business administration from Nova Southeastern University, specializing in human resources management. Prior to her career in academia, she earned an MPH from the University of Michigan and worked in the healthcare industry for 15 years in the areas of quality assurance, utilization management, and clinical research. Her academic publications focus on ethical education, organizational ethics, diversity management, process improvement in health care delivery systems, and health care reform. Dr. Loescher is also a co-author of the book, “Communication Matters: Write, Speak, Succeed,” published by Kendall Hunt in 2007 with a second edition in 2010.

Your McCombs Alumni Chapter leaders will provide information on school rankings and accolades and current student enrollment statistics as well as best practices for Chapter boards and volunteer management.

Charles Enriquez, Recruiting and Scholarship Coordinator, McCombs School of Business

2013.11.14

McCombs Today: A Prospective Student Overview

The McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin cordially invites you to find out more about the admission to, and opportunities and resources available in our top-ranked program and the business arena.

Charles Enriquez is an assistant director in the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin and oversees recruitment and scholarships for the McCombs Undergraduate Program. Charles has been with the McCombs School of Business since 2005 working to recruit top talent to the program and administering the undergraduate scholarship program. Prior to his time with McCombs, he worked in the Office of Admissions for five years where he served as an admissions counselor reading applications and visiting with students and families regarding admission to the university.

Ethan Burris, Associate Professor of Management, McCombs School of Business

2013.11.12

Challenges and Pitfalls of Decision-Making
Understanding Heuristics and Traps in Arriving at the Right Decision

This webinar provides research-based principles to help you get a critical leg up in arriving at the right decisions, even in the face of pressure and uncertainty. Decision-making has long been an area of scholarly study and this research forms the backbone of many techniques to making better choices. Decision-making has never been as important - and as useful - as it is now in our world of virtually limitless choice and overwhelming information.

Among the topics discussed in the webinar are: (1) Ways to avoid common critical thinking pitfalls and traps for individuals; (2) When and how to limit choices most appropriately; (3) Why "thinking harder" doesn’t necessarily help make better decisions; (4) Why individual biases make group decisions more difficult; and (5) Techniques for making big, important decisions like those relating to ethics.

We will take an in-depth look what works - and what doesn’t - when it comes to independently evaluating alternatives and making good assessments in a complicated, data-rich world.

Dr. Ethan Burris is an associate professor of management at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Ph.D. in management from Cornell University. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards on topics relating to leadership, working with groups and teams, and negotiations. He was also named to the "Faculty Honor Roll" in 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2013, received the Hank & Mary Harkins Foundation Award for Effective Teaching in Undergraduate Classes in 2012, the Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award in 2011, the ING Professor of Excellence award in 2011, and the 2009 Trammell/CBA Foundation Teaching Award.

Dr. Burris' current research focuses on understanding (1) the antecedents and consequences of employees speaking up or staying silent in organizations; (2) leadership behaviors, processes, and outcomes; and (3) the effective management of conflict generated by multiple interests and perspectives. Dr. Burris has collected data from and served as a consultant for a variety of professional firms, ranging from a Fortune 100 insurance company, a Fortune 500 company in the casual dining industry, several financial services organizations, hospitals, a defense contracting company, a commercial real estate firm, governmental agencies, and many retail organizations.

Admiral Bobby R. Inman graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1950 and from the National War College in 1972. He became an adjunct professor at the university in 1987 and was appointed as a tenured professor holding the Lyndon B. Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy in 2001. He served as interim dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 2005 and again January 2009-March 2010.

Inman served in the U.S. Navy from 1951-1982 and retired with the permanent rank of Admiral. While on active duty, he served as director of the National Security Agency and deputy director of Central Intelligence. After retirement from the Navy, Inman was chairman and CEO of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) for four years and chairman, president, and CEO of Westmark Systems, Inc., for three years. He also served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1987-1990.

Since 1990, Inman has been a managing director of Gefinor Ventures and Limestone Ventures. He is a member of the board of directors of several privately held companies and serves as a trustee of the American Assembly and the California Institute of Technology. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Robert Prentice, Chair, Business, Government, and Society Department, McCombs School of Business

2013.08.20

Business and Behavioral Ethics

The "next big thing" in business ethics education is behavioral ethics. Instead of using the tools of philosophy to focus on what is the right thing to do, behavioral ethics uses the tools of psychology to focus upon why good people do obviously bad things.

This talk focused on a temporal explanation for unethical behavior. One reason that people do not save as they rationally should is that their desire to have the things that $100 will buy today often outweighs their desire for the things that $100 could buy when they turn 65 sometime off in the future. Temporal factors can also help to explain why people do not act as they morally should.

Robert Prentice is the Ed & Molly Smith Professor of Business Law. He is also chair of the Business, Government, and Society Department, faculty director of the Business Honors Program, and faculty director of the Ethics Unwrapped educational video series, which provides free educational videos available to all at ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu.

Michael Hasler, Program Director, Master of Science in Business Analytics, McCombs School of Business

2013.06.11

Big Data And Data Analytics: How Companies Use Data To Solve Business Problems

Professor Michael Hasler presented on "Big Data and Data Analytics: How Companies Use Data to Solve Business Problems."

Professor Michael Hasler is the program director for the Master of Science in Business Analytics program. He's a fellow in the Supply Chain Management Center of Excellence, and a lecturer in the Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management.

Dean Gilligan, Centennial Chair in Business Leadership, McCombs School of Business

2013.05.14

An Economic Outlook and McCombs School Update

Dean Gilligan gives updates on the latest initiatives, programs and departments at McCombs. He also offers an economic forecast and touches on topics such as GDP growth and unemployment. Finally, he offers a look at the university’s and McCombs’ financial picture in relation to the latest Texas legislative session.

In 2008, Tom Gilligan was named Dean of the McCombs School of Business and the Centennial Chair in Business Leadership. Prior to joining the McCombs team, Dean Gilligan spent over 20 years as a faculty member at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, where he held a variety of leadership positions. He received his B.A. with honors from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK in 1979, and his Ph.D. in economics from Washington University, St. Louis, MO in 1984. His areas of professional interest include microeconomics, applied price theory, industrial organization, antitrust economics and public choice.

Dr. Leigh McAlister, Ed and Molly Smith Chair in Business Administration, McCombs School of Business

2013.04.16

Advertising Disclosure in Public Filings: Implications for Firm Profitability, Firm Value and Top Management Team Structure

Dr. Leigh McAlister is the Ed and Molly Smith Chair in Business Administration at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the university, she served on the faculties of the University of Washington and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the executive director at the Marketing Science Institute. She has received many teaching and research awards, including her most recent JMR’s O’Dell Award and JR’s Davidson Award. She received her Ph.D. from Stanford University, and her current research focuses on determinants of firm value and implications of web communications.

Energy touches most aspects of our lives. Access and affordability of energy plays a critical role in a nation’s quality of life. How we produce and use energy also affects our environment. The University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Poll was launched because we recognized the need for a regular, nonpartisan and authoritative look at public opinion on energy.

In this webinar, UT Energy Poll Director Sheril Kirshenbaum offers a briefing on the latest poll results, and deeper insight into American public opinion on major energy matters like hydraulic fracturing, climate change and consumer choice.

About the UT Energy Poll:
This groundbreaking public opinion poll measures and reports biannually on consumer opinions and attitudes toward energy consumption, pricing, development and regulation. The results provide a source to inform and guide discussion, business planning and policy development by highlighting American consumer attitudes and perspectives on energy. The UT Energy Poll has been fielded in March and September each year starting with September 2011.

About Sheril Kirshenbaum:
Sheril Kirshenbaum, director of the UT Energy Poll, works to enhance public understanding of energy issues and improve communication between scientists, policymakers and the public. She is the author of two popular science books and regularly contributes to magazines and academic journals. Sheril is a 2012 Marshall Memorial Fellow, a Next Generation Project Texas Fellow and has served as a legislative Knauss Science Fellow in 2006 on Capitol Hill with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) where she was involved in energy, climate and ocean policy.

Dr. Michael Webber earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 2001. He joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 2006, where he is an associate professor of mechanical engineering, Josey Centennial Fellow in Energy Resources in the Cockrell School of Engineering and co-director of the Clean Energy Incubator. He holds four patents, has published more than 40 peer-reviewed journal papers and serves on the board of advisors for Scientific American.

John McInnis received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and his BBA and MPA from The University of Texas at Austin. He teaches financial accounting in the MPA program. Professor McInnis has published articles in top scholarly journals including The Accounting Review, Journal of Finance, Management Science and Journal of Accounting & Economics.

The Difficulty of Being Ethical in a Difficult EconomyRobert Prentice is the founding chair of the Business, Government and Society Department at the McCombs School of Business. He received his B.A. from the University of Kansas and his J.D. from Washburn University. His research and teaching interests include business ethics and business law, particularly securities regulation and the legal liability of accountants.

Professor Prentice has won numerous teaching awards and is a member of The University of Texas’ Academy of Distinguished Teachers. He has published more than 30 major law review articles on topics such as securities law litigation, tender offers, insider trading, securities regulation and the Internet, accountants' legal liability and products liability.

Chris Plonsky, Women's Athletic Director, The University of Texas at Austin

2013.02.08

The Big Auxiliary – Funding a Modern Intercollegiate Athletics ProgramChris Plonsky has served as The University of Texas’ women’s athletic director since spring 2001. She also supervised external services for men's and women's athletics at UT since 1993. As the women’s athletic director, she leads the university’s 11-sport program of more than 240 women student- athletes. The external services area includes serving as the university’s athletics' chief liaison with multimedia rights holder, IMG College. She also supervises the university’s trademark and licensing staff, which works directly with IMG College's Collegiate Licensing Company.

She serves as a volunteer board member of the National Football Foundation/College Football Hall of Fame and USA Basketball. She is president-elect of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) for 2013-14. Locally, she is a member of the UT Libraries Advisory Council, the Capital Area Crime Stoppers board and the University Federal Credit Union supervisory committee.

Plonsky was born in Pittsburgh and raised in both Greensburg, Penn. and northeast Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1979 at Kent State University.

The Role of Energy Innovation and Investment in Driving the EconomyRex Tillerson is a native of Wichita Falls, Texas, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin before joining Exxon Company, U.S.A. in 1975 as a production engineer.

In 1989, he became general manager of EUSA's Central Production Division, responsible for oil and gas production operations throughout a large portion of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. In 1992, Mr. Tillerson was named production advisor to Exxon Corporation. Three years later he was named president of Exxon Yemen Inc. and Esso Exploration and Production Khorat Inc., and in January 1998 became vice president of Exxon Ventures (CIS) Inc. and president of Exxon Neftegas Limited. He was responsible for Exxon's holdings in Russia and the Caspian Sea as well as the Sakhalin I Consortium operations offshore Sakhalin Island, Russia.

In December 1999, he became executive vice president of ExxonMobil Development Company. Mr. Tillerson was named senior vice president of Exxon Mobil Corporation in August 2001, and was elected president of the corporation and member of the board of directors on March 1, 2004. He assumed his current position Jan. 1, 2006.

Mr. Tillerson is a member of the Executive Committee and is a former chairman of the American Petroleum Institute. He is also a trustee of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is a member of the National Petroleum Council, a member of the Business Roundtable, an honorary trustee of the Business Council for International Understanding and a member of the Emergency Committee for American Trade.

Mr. Tillerson is the vice-Chairman of the Ford's Theatre Society, immediate past national president of the Boy Scouts of America and a former director of the United Negro College Fund. He is also a member of the Chancellor's Council and the Engineering Advisory Board for The University of Texas at Austin and the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Michael Hasler, Program Director, Master of Science in Business Analytics

2013.02.08

Big Data and Data Analytics: How Companies Use Data to Solve Business ProblemsMichael Hasler is a fellow in the Supply Chain Management Center of Excellence, lecturer in the Information, Risk and Operations Management department and the director for the Master of Science program in Business Analytics. He received his B.S.M.E. from the General Motors Institute (Kettering University), M.S. and MBA from the University of Virginia and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.

The bulk of his professional experience was in supply chain management and operations for the auto industry. He moved to high technology in the semiconductor equipment industry with Applied Materials where he helped launch their supply chain management activity, and led operations for a $1 billion division. He was the head of global materials operations before leaving in 2003.

Trillion Dollar Platinum Coins, Currency Wars and Other "Modern" Ways to Produce InflationLewis Spellman is a professor in the Finance Department at the McCombs School of Business. He received his B.B.A. and MBA from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. His research interests include the value of third party financial guarantees, market estimates of bank risk, bank survival and banking development. His teaching interests include debt, equity, foreign exchange price trends, market intervention by governments and macroeconomics and business conditions.

Advocacy: How to Get People to Buy Your IdeasGood ideas never sell themselves. The only way any idea sees the light of day is by effective advocacy by its proponents. - Dr. John Daly

Join Dr. John Daly, author of "Advocacy: Championing Ideas and Influencing Others," as he shares his thoughts on transforming ideas into practice.

Dr. John Daly has published more than 100 scholarly articles, produced five books and made numerous conference presentations. He has served as editor of two academic journals, the president of the National Communication Association, and the president of the Council of Communication Associations. He has been on the Board of Directors of the International Customer Service Association and the International Communication Association.

Daly has worked with more than 300 companies and public agencies worldwide on topics related to communication, influence and customer loyalty. In recent years, he has worked with corporations like American Airlines, EDS, IBM, Trammell Crow, Marriott, Roche, Merck, TI and Merrill Lynch, as well as governmental units such as the White House, Department of the Army, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Interior and many others.

Dr. Prabhudev Konana, Chair, Department of Information, Risk and Operations Management, McCombs School of Business

2012.12.11

Outsourcing: Promise Versus RealityWith increased global connectivity, firms continue to unbundle their value chain activities and rely on global resources for business processes and other inputs. Some firms have gained from global sourcing, but most find the reality different from the promise. Why do some firms benefit while others fail to achieve desired results? This presentation seeks to address why different firms experience different results in global sourcing.

Dr. Prabhudev Konana is the chairman of the Department of Information, Risk and Operations Management. He is a William H. Seay Centennial Professor of Information Management and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He has an MBA and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.

Sheril Kirshenbaum, Director of The Energy Poll at The University of Texas at Austin

2012.11.13

Insights from the UT Energy PollEnergy touches most aspects of our lives. Access and affordability of energy plays a critical role in a nation’s quality of life. How we produce and use energy also affects our environment. The University of Texas at Austin's Energy Poll was launched because we recognized the need for a regular, nonpartisan and authoritative look at public opinion on energy. This groundbreaking public opinion poll measures and reports biannually on consumer opinions and attitudes toward energy consumption, pricing, development and regulation. The results provide a source to inform and guide discussion, business planning and policy development.

Sheril Kirshenbaum is the director of The Energy Poll and works to enhance public understanding of energy issues and improve communication between scientists, policymakers and the public. She is the author of two popular science books and regularly contributes to magazines and academic journals. Sheril is a 2012 Marshall Memorial Fellow, a Next Generation Project Texas Fellow and has served as a legislative Knauss Science Fellow in 2006 on Capitol Hill with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) where she was involved in energy, climate and ocean policy.

McCombs Today: A Prospective Student Overview with Charles EnriquezThe McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin cordially invites you to find out more about admissions, opportunities and resources available in our top-ranked program.

Charles Enriquez is an assistant director in the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, and oversees recruitment and scholarships for the McCombs Undergraduate Program. Charles has worked at the McCombs School of Business since 2005, recruits top talent to the program and administers the undergraduate scholarship program. Prior to his time with McCombs, he worked in the Office of Admissions for five years where he served as an admissions counselor reading applications and visiting with students and families regarding admission to the university.

Live Webcast of "The Economy in 2013 - Now What?" Texas Enterprise Speaker Series with Dean Tom GilliganWill there be budget deficits and a double-dip recession? Or will we see Europe resolve their financial challenges, the Dow consistently over 13,000 and profits rise across Texas? One thing is for sure, there'll be an election in November, and that too, will likely change the economic landscape.

As you work on those revenue and expense numbers for your 2013 budget, you have to wonder what the environment will look like for investing, growth and expansion – within Texas and around the world. Come listen as economist and Dean of the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, Tom Gilligan, Ph.D., shares the view from 30,000 feet, along with experts from some of the most active industries in the Texas economy, including health care, energy, and technology.

We are unable to post a recording of this webcast.

Knowledge To Go

Economy

Laura Starks, Associate Dean for Research

2012.09.06

Retirement: The Future is Not What It Used to BeJoin Professor Laura Starks for a discussion on how retirement investing has changed. Research provides evidence on the decisions individuals and institutions are making regarding the sources and uses of retirement funds, including choices regarding investment vehicles, asset allocation, payout methods and the psychology behind these choices. There is also evidence on the consequences and potential consequences of those decisions for financial markets.

How to Capture Innovative Ideas (from Your Employees)The pursuit and capture of innovation is challenging to say the least. Employees must be invested enough to spend the time and effort to contribute their ideas. There are no guarantees that anything will be done once employees give their suggestions. Once an organization develops a way to solicit employee ideas, executives may find it challenging to sift through them all, arrive at a set of agreeable strategic actions, and convince the many constituencies to buy in. Selecting the most-feasible ideas to implement and align stakeholder commitment is similarly daunting for senior leaders. This webinar focuses on how organizations can foster an environment that encourages employees to speak up with ideas and develop a process for evaluating and prioritizing ideas once they are on the table.

Greece, the Euro-Zone and America's FutureJoin Professor John Doggett in a lively discussion on what is happening “behind the headlines” in Greece, and what he predicts for the Euro-Zone. How will it affect America’s economy? What are the long-term impacts for economic growth and development globally? Learn from our own global expert on what the fallout will be, and how to prepare your own business.

Our Turn Campaign: Giving to Ensure the Prestige of Our DegreesIn this webinar, Dean Tom Gilligan joins alumnus Ed Tonkon, a McCombs ambassador for the Our Turn Campaign, to discuss the steps being taken to double the alumni giving rate to 10% over the next three years. While our McCombs School of Business has attained several top performance rankings, lower-ranked schools like SMU, Texas A&M (and even OU) at least double our rate of alumni giving of only 5 percent. When alumni give back it helps McCombs, which in turns helps keep each prestigious degree preserved. It also helps keep alumni informed on the latest events, activities and development going on with McCombs and its alumni.

An Economic Outlook and McCombs School Update
This webinar provides updates on the latest initiatives, programs and departments at McCombs. Dean Tom Gilligan offers an economic forecast, and touches on topics like GDP growth and unemployment, and looks at UT and McCombs’ financial picture in relation to the latest Texas Legislative session.

Numbers All Americans Should KnowThis presentation focuses on many of the fiscal and economic numbers that you should be familiar with in order to participate in the political and economic discussions that will continue to take place well into the foreseeable future. We'll discuss debt, social security, health care, disability insurance, employment and other issues.

Crisis Management and the Psychology of BlameA critical issue companies face during a crisis is whether they will be blamed by the public, even when it is not clear how the crisis occurred. Will people blame the company, despite the uncertainty surrounding the cause of the crisis? How does the public assess blame during a crisis? This webinar discusses the factors influencing the assessment of blame during a crisis, a topic that Daniel Laufer has been researching over the past 10 years since receiving his Ph.D. from McCombs in 2002.

"Money, Power, Politics and Ambition: The Texas Way"In Dr. Cunningham's keynote address at the 7th Annual Alumni Business Conference, he discussed some of the more interesting and controversial events that took place during the period he was President of The University of Texas at Austin and Chancellor of The University of Texas System. These ranged from the creation of the Big 12 to his relationship with four Governors and the Texas Legislature. Video coming soon.

Alumni Business Conference

Leadership

John DalyProfessor
Department of Communication Studies, College of Communication
Department of Management, McCombs School of Business
IC2 Institute

2012.02.24

Advocacy
"Good ideas never sell themselves. The only way any idea sees the light of day is by effective advocacy by its proponents." Professor Daly just released his new book "Advocacy: Championing Ideas and Influencing Others" and shared thoughts on how to transform ideas into practice. Video coming soon.

“How Do We Solve the US Fiscal Crisis?”Is the federal government’s fiscal health as bad as conventional wisdom says it is? Or is it even worse? Using actual data from the federal government’s audited financial statements, Professor Michael Granof will attempt to answer those questions. He will tie the federal government’s fiscal condition to that of state and local governments to present a more complete picture of the challenges that we, as citizens and taxpayers, currently face. Video coming soon.

Findings from the UT Energy PollUT's new groundbreaking public opinion poll measures and reports biannually (October and April) on consumer opinions and attitudes toward energy consumption, pricing, development and regulation. The Energy Poll results provide an impartial and authoritative source of public perspectives on energy in order to inform and guide discussion, business planning and policy development. The University of Texas at Austin's Energy Management and Innovation Center, a research center within the McCombs School of Business, and the McCombs Department of Marketing developed the Energy Poll to provide objective, scientifically valid and practical data on consumer attitudes and perspectives on energy issues, tracked over time. The survey was rigorously developed and tested by academic and research experts. To ensure its usefulness and impartiality, the university also solicited input from parties across the energy spectrum, including non-governmental agencies, consultants, a large energy user, energy producers, and an academic advisory panel. Video coming soon.

Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship and Why It Matters to EveryoneKevin Williams develops and teaches graduate courses at the McCombs School, where he's received several awards for teaching. He also taught at the McCoy College of Business Administration, Texas State University, San Marcos. Williams was a Venture Partner with ARCH Venture Partners from 1999-2005, where he was involved in seed and early-stage technology investing.

Is a Sovereign Default an Earth-Shaking Experience?A sovereign default, or even a near default, can have earth-shaking consequences to income levels, wealth redistribution, institutions and governmental structures. The developments in Europe have the power to change most everything we're accustomed to. The European situation will be reviewed, and some general conclusions will be drawn.

Open Innovation and Technology Transfer, Sustaining the Firm for the FutureIn this webinar, Professor John Sibley Butler will investigate the relationship between laboratory science, the commercialization of laboratory science and the competitive strategy of the firm.

Butler is professor of management and sociology and is the director of the IC² Institute and Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business. IC² is an interdisciplinary research unit with 18 endowed fellows and over 280 fellows worldwide. Butler’s research areas are organizational science, with special emphasis on military and entrepreneurial organizations.

Motivating Employees: Beyond Carrots and SticksThis presentation explores academic theories of motivation within the context of three key themes: (1) motivation requires a relationship, (2) true change and learning comes from inside a person and (3) a change of behavior is as much emotional as it is intellectual. In addition to an overview of theoretical knowledge, the presentation will provide applicable guidelines and examples to help you understand how to improve productivity and morale in your workplace.

Organizational Corruption and Control
Organizational corruption is illegal or unethical (by societal standards) action taken by organizational members, through their organizational positions or with organizational resources. This webinar examines the drivers of corruption and the tools and techniques that have been developed for organizations to control corruption and build ethical organizational cultures.

Capital and the Investor's PerspectiveThis session provides participants with a crash-course in capital for new businesses, including:

The fundamental knowledge base of what investors look for

Investment patterns in clean energy

Identifying sources of capital for network-centric energy

New funding sources and strategies

Kirk Coburn is an entrepreneur and start-up advocate that founded three companies through idea creation, market validation, team building, fund raising, company launch, operational execution and successful acquisition.

Influence and Problem SolvingDr. Gaylen Paulson is associate dean and director for Executive Education at the McCombs School. He is also a Senior Lecturer for the Management Department. His research and teaching are focused on the strategic aspects of interacting with people, including negotiation, conflict management, persuasion and interpersonal communication.

Update on the Private Capital MarketProfessor Nolen will give an update on the current state of the private capital markets, including capital availability for privately owned businesses, venture capital and private equity activity and middle market M&A activity. Recent and pending IPOs by LinkedIn, Groupon and Facebook will be discussed on whether these high profile VC exits will revive the IPO market in the US or lead to another tech bubble.

Robert PrenticeDirector, Business Honors Program
Interim Chair, Department of Business, Government and Society

2011.06.14

Challenges of Ethical Leadership The ethical behavior of an organization is largely dictated by its ethical climate. The leaders of an organization are the most significant contributors to its ethical climate. Leaders face unique ethical challenges by simply being leaders. This webinar will addresses those challenges.

Economic and McCombs UpdateIn addition to providing updates on the latest initiatives, programs and departments at McCombs, Dean Tom Gilligan offers an economic forecast, touches upon on topics like GDP growth and unemployment, and looks at UT and McCombs’ financial picture in relation to the latest Texas Legislative session.

Texas Venture LabsContinuing the discussion from his webinar in November, Dr. Rob Adams covers the newly formed Texas Venture Labs, a cross-campus initiative centered around innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship. Venture Labs provides direct links to the entrepreneurial, business, technology and legal resources available both on the campus and in the Texas entrepreneurial eco-system.

Sustainability of Government SpendingIs the federal government’s fiscal health as bad as conventional wisdom says it is? Or is it even worse? Using actual data from the federal government’s audited financial statements, Professor Michael Granof attempts to answer those questions. He ties the federal government’s fiscal condition to that of state and local governments to present a more complete picture of the challenges that we, as citizens and taxpayers, currently face.

Keynote Presentation: 6th Annual McCombs Alumni Business ConferenceI. Jon Brumley has more than 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He was chairman of the Texas State Board of Education and he's been active in educational causes and oversight since 1980. He has a BBA degree from McCombs and an MBA degree from Wharton.

Marketing UT AthleticsIn 1996, The University of Texas at Austin’s athletics programs languished in the Southwest Conference with an unimpressive record, coaching turnover and a $21 million budget. The Texas Athletics rise of to national powerhouse with $143.6 million in revenue is a story of focus, innovation and branding, with lessons for every enterprise. Ben Bentzin, lecturer in the Department of Marketing and CEO of an Austin technology startup was formerly a marketing executive with Dell Inc.

Eli CoxLa Quinta Professor of Business,
Former Director of the Business Honors Program

2010.12.14

Business Ethics Professor Cox discusses the “creed of greed” based on the concept of “economic man” and its progeny: “rational choice theory” and “game theory.” He uses sports as a metaphor for business and its regulation. Cox is the La Quinta Motor Inns Centennial Professor in Business and professor in the Department of Marketing. He received his B.A. (1965) and MBA (1966) from Michigan State University and his DBA (1973) from Indiana University.

Market Validation and Texas Venture Labs The November Knowledge To Go (KTG) webinar features Rob Adams on market validation and the newly-formed Texas Venture Labs. Texas Venture Labs is a cross-campus initiative centered around innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship. Market validation is a technique core to making new products successful in the market, and it's the framework for some of the successful acquisitions that have come through Texas Venture Labs.

Innovation and Information in Health Care Delivery
Health care is a major issue facing all businesses and their employees. Indications are that things will get worse before they get better. Cost and access are issues that are always on the table, but another issue that must be dealt with is the design of the delivery systems. If the design of health care delivery systems is going to be improved, it will require attention to create conditions for significant innovation, particularly in the areas of health information systems.

Real Estate Outlook
What started out as a subprime crisis led to a financial crisis, which in turn impacted the entire macroeconomy. The resulting recession led to a standstill in real estate activity and a drop in values. Now many worry that commercial real estate represents the “next shoe to drop” (or that has already dropped). In this September KTG webinar Professor Hartzell discusses current conditions in the real estate markets, how we got to this point, and the outlook for the future.

Challenges & Successes with Marketing SustainabilityWalmart believes that customers shouldn’t have to choose between products they can afford and products that are good for their family and the planet. That’s why sustainability is embedded deep into the DNA of Walmart's brand and business. While not an easy thing to do, it’s the right thing to do, and sustainability is one of the ways Walmart is able to deliver low prices. Through their scale, they have the ability to bring affordability to more sustainable products, and influence our suppliers and their suppliers to look at the way they do business and how their practices impact the environment. Ultimately, the customer wins with lower prices and higher quality products, all while reducing the impact on the communities. Tony Rogers, SVP of marketing, explains Walmart's responsibility and challenge to bring greater transparency to customers, allowing them to make more informed purchasing choices.

Building Your Company Culture
Marcie Zlotnik has more than seven years of experience in the energy industry. Prior to co-founding StarTex Power in 2004, she served as President and Director of Gexa Energy, a retail electricity provider Zlotnik co-founded in 2001. StarTex Power has received the J.D. Powers award for Residential electricity in Texas, Houston Business Journal Top 10 Best Places to Work and #30 Fastest growing Private Business in US. How does one company satisfy its customers, employees and shareholders? Corporate culture plays a significant role in StarTex Power’s success.

8 Keys to Building Lasting Enterprises
Gary Hoover, entrepreneur-in-residence at McCombs’ Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship, has spent a lifetime studying business and entrepreneurship and has started four companies himself, including Bookstop and Hoovers. In this webinar, he speaks to the eight keys to building lasting, successful enterprises, giving vivid examples along the way, beginning with the importance of a robust curiosity.

School Update & Economic Outlook
This webinar provides updates on the latest initiatives, programs and departments at McCombs, Dean Gilligan offers an economic forecast, and touches on topics like GDP growth and unemployment.

Global Trade Outlook
We are in the eye of a hurricane in global trade unlike anything anyone has seen in recent history. Andy Grove calls this time a strategic inflection point, “a time in the life of a business [or country] when its fundamentals are about to change. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights. But it may just as likely signal the beginning of the end,” (Grove, Only the Paranoid Survive). Our rules of thumb and assumptions are no longer valid, and countries we hadn’t considered to be competitors in the past are emerging ahead of the US. Listen and learn as Professor Doggett examines recent global trends and zeroes in on the future global economy as impacted by recent Chinese economic growth.

Corporate Culture
How does one company satisfy it’s customers, employees and shareholders? Marcie Zlotnik, BBA ’83 and chairman and CEO of StarTex Power, answers these important questions. Zlotnik has more than seven years of experience in the energy industry. Prior to co-founding StarTex Power in 2004, she served as President and Director of Gexa Energy, a retail electricity provider Zlotnik co-founded in 2001. StarTex Power has received J.D. Power awards for electricity in Texas, Houston Business Journal Top 10 Best Places to Work and #30 Fastest Growing Private Business in US.

Texas Venture Labs & Innovation Using Market Validation
Rob Adams, lecturer, director of Venture Labs and Moot Corp, and IC2 Fellow covers the recent formation of Venture Labs, a cross-campus University of Texas at Austin program designed to increase innovation, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship for students and faculty. He reviews the process behind Venture Labs successful skunk-works format that has been used for the last five years to successfully identify, raise financing, and launch multiple student ventures. Rob also shares his insight on market validation, the primary business technique used to identify promising market opportunities in teaching entrepreneurship.

Texas Athletics
In 1996 The University of Texas athletics programs languished in the Southwest Conference with an unimpressive record, coaching turnover and a $21 million budget. How Texas Athletics became a $138 million national powerhouse in 10 years is a story of focus, innovation and branding, with lessons for every enterprise. Ben Bentzin, lecturer in the department of marketing, formerly served as Director of Ballet Austin and was the CEO of World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2006 and Director of Marketing at Dell, Inc.

The New CIA: China, India & America
Senior Lecturer, Department of Management, John Doggett's research and teaching interests include international entrepreneurship, global competition and sustainability and energy. He teaches summer and winter courses on entrepreneurship and global competition in Austria, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. In this presentation, Doggett examines global trends and growth particularly in regards to Brazil, Russia, India, China and America.

Energy Issues & the Groundbreaking Research Being Conducted at the University's New Energy Institute
Ray Orbach, director of the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin, sheds light on the groundbreaking research being conducted at the University's new energy institute and potential solutions to critical energy issues affecting our country.
Prior to his directorship, Orbach was the U.S. Department of Energy's first undersecretary for science. Orbach sees the Energy Institute as a unifying collaborator to help The University of Texas at Austin mobilize its faculty and academic resources, as well as talent from other institutions in The University of Texas System.

Social Media--Is It Good for Business?
Social Media is a phenomenon that has been talked about, debated, and complicated for a variety of reasons. Listen to Sean McDonald, BBA ’86 & MBA ’95, in this March 9 Knowledge To Go webinar where he shares observations of how social media can transform business (yes, small business too).

Venture Capital & Private Equity--Past, Present & Future
Steve Dow, partner at Sevin Rosin Funds in Dallas, told the New York Times in 2006 that “the VC model is broken.” A recent survey from executive search firm Polachi Inc. polled more than 100 venture capital executives, 70 percent of whom were partners or managing partners. It found that a majority, 53 percent of respondents, indicated the venture capital industry is “broken.” Will the current funding gap affect the US’ ability to develop new technologies and create new jobs? What will be the next "big thing" or growth driver in the next decade? This presentation discusses the golden years of private equity, the current environment and what the future holds for this industry and entrepreneurial activity.

Is America in Moral Decline?
Marketing Professor Eli Cox speaks on whether America is in moral decline. He believes it is, and he's writing a book about it. In his lecture to alumni, Dr. Cox reviews several relevant resource books. He explains the economic concept of marginal utility in depth, and its effect on quality of life. Dr. Cox argues that there is a point of satiation for most individuals where marginal utility begins to decline. For some individuals, no amount of money is enough and that's when aberrant behavior kicks in.

The Subprime Crisis: Who Is To Blame?
Professor Leeds, senior finance lecturer at McCombs School of Business, reviews a myriad of entities to blame for the subprime crisis, among them homebuyers, mortgage brokers, bankers, the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury and the Security Exchange Commission.

Events

The McCombs Alumni Network offers opportunities year-round to increase your knowledge, enhance your career, and connect with alumni face-to-face. Attend local chapter events like Access McCombs and the Faculty Speaker Series. Join alumni from across the globe at our annual Alumni Business Conference.

View our full event calendarfor a complete list of upcoming events. Visit our events page to learn about the types of events we offer, including chapter events, annual events and webinars.

Texas Enterprise

Texas Enterprise (TxE), an online publication discussing "big ideas in business" from The University of Texas at Austin, is designed to make it easier for people outside of the university to access the business insights, consequential knowledge, and public policy discussions thriving on campus.

TxE was born within the business school, but it draws on reasoned voices from across the entire university. Equally impressive is the participation of a growing list of TxE contributors drawn from professional experts.

Texas Executive Education

Uncertain economic times create pressure for you and your business to come up with the right answers and strategies for success. Texas Executive Education's training and development programs are designed to help you achieve results and manage change in a complex business environment.